The
say the third time is the charm, but can Harry make
it the fourth time too?by
Cole Smith

November
25, 2005 - I
hope I don't have to explain who Harry Potter is.
If I do, I won't. Query it on Google and come back
later.

Here
we are with the fourth Harry Potter videogame, just
in time for the Holidays. Talk about milking a cash
cow. Just how much money does this lady need? I'm
talking about creator J.K. Rowling, who I confuse
with Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien, and Judas
Priest guitarist, K.K. Downing.

In
the latest movie, and book, the Harry Potter gang
is approaching young adulthood. As a result the subject
matter has become somewhat darker. (I'm sure you've
heard everyone say this). It's probably in retaliation
to all those over-zealous religious morons that condemned
the series for promoting witchcraft and Satanism.
Don't get me started...don't even get me started....

I
do like the series and although I haven't read any
of the books I've seen the movies. I guess I'm just
"a fan" and not a 'freaking freak fan."
In any case I'm also a gamer and that gives me license
to work a little magic of my own on the Harry Potter
license. Let me begin by informing you that the gameplay
is very straightforward and simplified. It falls under
the category of an interactive movie. It's linear
and it moves along at a quick pace buffered by cutscenes
that keep the storyline central to the gameplay. The
game follows the plot of the movie, which is tailor-made
for a videogame in my opinion, but manages to elaborate
on situations to extend the gameplay without resorting
to filler.

Lord
Voldemort captures Harry with the aid of the ghostly
Death Eaters. He explains that Harry's mother died
trying to save him but cast a spell that backfired
on Voldemort. With the aid of a magic elixir he has
been able to remain alive and with the aid of the
Death Eaters he will attempt to exact revenge. Things
look pretty grim for Harry and his gang. I'm sure
this movie will scare the bejesus out of a lot of
kids.

Harry
is also selected to take part as a contestant in the
TriWizard Tournament which sees him perform a variety
of tasks which require his developing warlock skills.
He will have to fight a dragon, ride his broomstick
through trying conditions, save his friends from danger
and make his way through a giant labyrinth. It all
makes for a great movie but if you've already seen
it, you might be disappointed by how basic these missions
are adapted for gameplay.

It's
fun to relive the movie and that's about all you're
going to get out of this when all is said and done.
The linear nature of the gameplay ensures that you
will be forced into the various scenes as the director
and developer intended. The puzzles and mini-games
are fun but they are like eating candy floss; there's
not much nourishment.

You
can play as any of the three characters, Harry, Hermione
or Ron. When you switch among them the AI will take
over. The other characters do tend to get in the way
and they're not particularly brilliant when it comes
to doing the right thing. The levels that just feature
Harry are the most fun in the single-player mode.

Much
of the combat is button mashing. While it feels good
to be empowered thusly it takes the challenge out
of the game. To make things even more condescending,
the spells that you acquire are automatically loaded
for you depending on the situation. When you need
to levitate something, the levitation spell is automatically
chosen for you. You don't have the ability to make
these decisions nor can you combine spells to create
more complex hybrids. Unless all you want to do is
get through this game as quickly as possible, these
features aren't doing anyone any favors.

It
may be interesting to play the three-player co-op
mode, as it's certainly more rewarding than having
the AI take over the other characters. It plays out
like a dumbed-down version of Gauntlet but if you've
got two pals over at your house and you're looking
for something to do for a few hours you could certainly
find a worse time waster.

The
locations look great. You'll get to visit many of
them although you don't have the total freedom of
3D exploration. The colors are vibrant and the characters
are well rendered with fluid animation. You can't
control the camera angles and you'll be subjected
to occasional leaps of faith and offscreen hits from
enemies. Particle effects are put to good use during
spell castings with great lighting and animated effects.
The music is perfect for the game and the voiceacting
is decent.

I
would recommend renting this game for a weekend. Although
there are a lot collectibles to gather you may not
care to replay the game just to compulsively collect
everything. The rewards are just not worth the effort
in my opinion. Otherwise it's a good revisiting of
the movie or novel.

Features

All
the Magic of the Movie - The magical world of
Harry Potter comes to life with in-game characters
that look like their big-screen counterparts, cinematic
environments, captivating gameplay, and a compelling
interactive experience.

Co-operative
Play - In another first for the franchise, join
forces with friends to navigate the world of Harry
Potter, combining powers and casting spells co-operatively
to create more powerful magic.

Compelling
Rewards System - Increase the power of Harry,
Ron, and Hermione with collector's and Creature
Cards.

By
Cole SmithCCC
Staff Writer

Rating
out of 5

Harry
Potter & The Goblet Of Fire (PS2)

4.0

Graphics
Impressive character models and lighting
effects will please even the staunchest
Harry fan.

3.3

Control
We'd like more control over what spells
we can cast and when, rather than having
them be context sensitive. Too much button
mashing.

4.5

Music
/ Sound FX / Voice Acting
The voice acting is decent but the musical
score is even better.

3.5

Play
Value
The free roam exploration of Hogwarts is
gone, replaced by a more restricting level
structure. 3 player co-op is just what this
game needs though.

3.5

Overall
Rating -
Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above
for a final score breakdown.

Preview
By Devin

With
the recent release of the sixth children's wizard
book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, we here
at Cheat Code Central are going to pay homage to Harry
and his puberty laden comrades by previewing EA's
new game Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. For
those of you in the know, GoF is currently being filmed
as the 4th Harry Potter motion picture. So that makes
this game more of a game based on a movie which was
based on a book that someone's great grandma who knows
their uncle but who's also their sister wrote. That's
creepy, but is it as creepy as a bunch of kids running
around with magic wands? You decide!

HP:
GoF will have you running around as one of the three
wizards, Harry, Ron or Heriome. If you're familiar
with some of the HP titles in the past, don't expect
this title to be puzzle ridden. EA took HP: GoF in
an action direction. However, cooperation will become
a key factor later on, as you will eventually meet
up with the other two wizards and continue the game
as a trio. At this point, up to two other players
can join in for a 3-Player Co-Op.

Some
other nifty gameplay features show Harry riding his
trusty broom stick. (Ok, keep any gross innuendos
to yourself, that's what I'm doing). For any wizard
or witch, your broomstick is your primary source of
transportation. The broomstick has also been a source
of action in past Potter stories. However, EA dropped
the ball here. With more games, and gamers, yearning
for free roaming game play, players are going to be
disappointed when they find that the only control
they have over the broomstick is your typical up down,
left and right and a turbo boost. You'll be stuck
on a pre-determined path as you race against dragons
and other broomstick blazing wizards in order reach
your destination.

I'm
not saying that Harry should be committing Grand Theft
Auto, or grand theft broomstick, but it would have
been nice to be able to use the broomstick to move
between different areas of the game. Or maybe a little
bit more action, at least more than racing as fast
as you can.

HP:
GoF features a neat little spell system too. As one
of your favorite wizards, or witch, you will have
a choice of 3 spells to cast: Jinx, Charm and Axia.
Charms will help you affect your environment, such
as lifting objects or enemies. Jinx is your attack
magic and Axia can summon entities.

I
don't expect this title to be very popular amongst
people outside the Harry Potter fan base. Even though
Harry Potter is pretty popular amongst the younger
audience, the action oriented gameplay and spell casting
system could disorient the younger crowd a bit. That
shouldn't matter as EA is destined to make some bucks
off the Harry Potter name alone, regardless if the
game is good or not.